ISLANDERS CLAIM POCK OFF WAIVERS
Good player, but there’s probably more to it
The Islanders have always liked Thomas Pock, like his skating, like his composure on the power play. A guy like Pock could have made a big difference for Bridgeport last year. So it’s not surprising they plucked Pock off waivers from the Rangers today.
But the bigger issue is, why. Or better yet, why? If we are to believe the love this week for Jack Hillen and the stated comfort factor with Brett Skinner and Chris Lee, it seems fair to make the leap that the Islanders may be preparing themselves for some time without Chris Campoli. (This is the sort of guesswork media are forced to make when teams do not disclose injury reports).
I spoke with Campoli today. At face value, he seemed okay, wasn’t sporting any large bandages or slings and he didn’t seem depressed. He confirmed whatever’s ailing him is unrelated to his shoulder injury that led to surgery last season. If I read him correctly, he also seemed to imply this was a long-term injury.
Maybe the Islanders hope to get Pock to Bridgeport to play 25 minutes, run their power play and see if he can make some strides in his development. Pock seemed to fall out of favor with the Rangers since the beginning of last season. Maybe Garth Snow and Scott Gordon just love the player so much, they think he’s automatically better than some of the players in their top 7, healthy or not.
The Islanders released the news of Pock’s acquisition after a half-dozen reporters left Iceworks. We missed the chance to speak to Gordon about it. I have a call in to Snow and will post an update if there are any revelations.
Here’s Sam Weinman’s quick take from the perspective of a Rangers beat reporter. And here’s a piece of the Islanders press release:
The New York Islanders have claimed defenseman Thomas Pock off waivers from the New York Rangers. Pock has played in 59 career NHL games and has scored seven goals with seven assists for 14 points.
Last season, Pock played in one game with the Rangers and went scoreless. He also played in 74 games with the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League and scored seven goals with 37 assists for 44 points.
2 Responses to “ISLANDERS CLAIM POCK OFF WAIVERS
Good player, but there’s probably more to it”
Please Wait
Chris,
That was exactly my initial thought when I saw that posted on the Islanders website nearly two hours ago. I felt that Campoli will be out long-term, and therefore Pock will present himself as a depth defenseman. With Bridgeport, he should be great. I am just hoping he tightens up defensively enough to really provide the Islanders a better call up option than Dustin Kohn. Hopefully, Pock can be a long term Islander who develops into a second pairing defenseman, and a second PP unit player. What does this mean for Bruno though? That should be the big question Isles fans have today…
I think that a guy like Pock might be there because of an injury to a guy like Sutton more than a guy like Campy. Who knows, though? They could both be injured for a while for all we friggin know.
This sucks. I hate not knowing wth is going on with this team. We cant see them play, we dont know if they are alright, nothing. It is unbelievably frustrating.